


Peace

by RovingRomy



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 04:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8954503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RovingRomy/pseuds/RovingRomy
Summary: The fight with Thordak is tough on Vax, so he and Keyleth take some time to rest in Zephra.





	

They beat Thordak.

Amazingly, they do it without losing anybody. Some of the party is hit hard though, and there are a few close calls

Vax is hit hard though. Especially mentally. Killing the dragon that had killed his mother takes it’s toll, and years of fighting and death crash down around him. Keyleth is the first to worry, almost as soon as they finish the battle, downing Thordak and then finishing off Rayshan. Soon, though, the others are worried, too.

Keyleth isn’t doing great either. Seeking her revenge on Rayshan had been one of the things that kept her going, and now that it’s finished the exhaustion has caught up with her.

So everyone understands when, a week after their victory, Keyleth tells them all that she and Vax are going to take a few days to themselves and return to Zephra with her father and their people.

* * *

 

Just being surrounded by the peacefulness of Zephra makes Vax feel like a weight is being lifted off of him, even if it’s only a small relief. When Kohren shows them to their room - one single room for the both of them, with one bed - Keyleth turns a bright red, stammering out nonsense in a halting, embarassed voice, while her father watches, a hint of amusement in his eyes. It’s the first time Vax has smiled in days.

Her face is still burning crimson when her father leaves the room, and she buried her face in Vax’s shoulder when he walkd over to her. “I thought you said the Ashari were open minded,” he says. “Why are you so embarrassed?”

“He’s still my dad,” she mumblesinto his shirt, staying like that for a moment before turning her head so she can breathe, resting her cheek against his heartbeat.

Vax chuckles, not even realizing he’s doing it until Keyleth looks up at him, a surprised smile on her face. “That’s a sound I like to hear. I was starting to think I wouldn’t hear it again.”

He can’t think of anything to say to that, feeling guilty that Keyleth is worrying about him. So he just squeezes his arms around her tighter, pulling her into a long hug.

* * *

 

They spend their days wandering around Zephra, Keyleth showing Vax different places that were important to her when she was growing up. He enjoys the freedom of not having to worry about an upcoming fight, about saving lives, and constantly having to plan. He enjoys laying in bed lazily until late in the morning, and not having to put on armor as soon as he gets up, living in it for the entire day.

Vax asks if this was really what Keyleth’s life was like, before she left on her Aramente, before she met Vex Machina. They’re sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking out over the mountains, and there’s a life breeze that gives him a chill. He’d almost forgotten how warm armor keeps him, what it feels like to experience a cool breeze with nothing more than a single layer of cloth to keep the chill from his skin.

She’s quiet for a long moment, her brow furrowing. “When I was young, yeah. For awhile. After my mother… never came back and my father decided I’d be his successor then I had to spend most of my time studying.” Her voice trails off, and she goes silent. It stretches on for several long seconds, before she finally says, “When I come back, after I finish my Aramente, it won’t be like this. Even though my father will still be the Headmaster, for awhile at least, I’ll still have work to do. And once he either retires or dies I’ll have even more work to do.”

He looks over at her. He brow is still furrowed, and though her eyes are looking toward the mountains ahead of them, her gaze is far away and unfocused. Small strands of hair move in the breeze, flowing back and over her shoulders. His heart almost hurts when he thinks about how beautiful she is, how much he loves her.

“Still,” Vax responds, “It probably won’t be as stressful as our lives have been the past few years, right?”

Keyleth finally smiles. “That is right. I used to hate my studies. I hated the pressure of trying to make my father proud. I hated that it took up so much of my time. But there were times when over the past couple of years, a lot of times, that I found myself missing it. Unless there’s some kind of rift or something, even hard work here is Zephra is easy going in comparison.”

That sounds nice to Vax. Hard work without the constant threat of death, or the constant threat of losing people he loves. Responsibility that doesn’t always involve risking his life and having to fight the worst of the worst. Working to maintain peace, rather than fighting to establish it.

A peaceful life would  be very nice.

* * *

 

Once every couple of days Keyleth a few hours alone with her father. Vax usually spends that time wandering around, going back to the places Keyleth has shown him, enjoying the quiet, reveling in the peacefulness of Zephra. He’s not sure he remembers ever experiencing such quiet, such calm. Discovering that quiet calm is almost like falling in love with Keyleth, like he found something he never knew he was looking for.

Keyleth finds him sitting next to large tree on one of Zephra’s many cliff’s edges. He looks over at her as she sits next to him, and though she’s smiling he can still see the slight worry in her eyes. That worry has been there since the night after they defeated Thordak, when she clung to him in their bed, wiping tears from his cheeks that he hadn’t even realized were there.

He smiles back, wanting to quell her worry. It’s a genuine smile, full of happiness and serenity, but he’s not sure if she recognizes how true it is.

“How you doing?” she asks, her eyes still studying him.

“Good,” he responds. “Really good.”

“Yeah?”

Vax looks out over the mountains for a long moment, feeling the air against his skin. “I love it here.”

“Really?” Keyleth says, her voice excited.

“Really.”

She smiles wide, scooting closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, pulling herself close. “I’m so glad.”

They settle into a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company. “I know we have a lot of work to do. I lot of rebuilding,” he starts after several minutes, turning his gaze to Keyleth. She looks back at him, a small, happy smile on her face. “But when we’re done with all that, I mean to marry you.”

Keyleth looks stunned, the smile dropping from her face as sadness sets in. “Vax, when we’re done with all that, I have to finish my Aramente and then come back here. That’s one of the things I’ve been talking to my dad about. I wasn’t sure before, but I am now, and-”

Vax cuts her off with a soft kiss, his fingers grasping her jaw in a gentle hold. She looks confused and slightly dazed when he pulls back. “I intend to be with you as you finish you’re Aramente. And I want to come back here, with you.”

“You do?” she says, her voice small.

“Kiki, I followed you into a terrifying lava portal,” he says. “Don’t you know that I’d follow anywhere?”

A bright smile overtakes her face, and her eyes shine with tears. “So… are you asking me to marry you right now?”

He laughs. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Well, then,  I guess I’m saying yes.”

Vax kisses her, long and deep, gazing at her as he pulls away. He frames her face with his hands, wiping away joyful tears with trembling fingers.

Keyleth sighs happily, leaning in close and resting her head on shoulder. He wraps his arms around her and they gaze out over the mountains of Zephra, together.


End file.
